The present invention relates to exercise methods and apparatus and more particularly, to unique linkage arrangements between arm driven members and leg driven members which are suitable for use on various types of exercise equipment.
Exercise equipment has been designed to facilitate various exercise motions, many of which incorporate both arm and leg movements. Examples of such equipment include elliptical exercise machines (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,242,343, 5,423,729, 5,540,637, 5,725,457, and 5,792,026); free form exercise machines (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,290,211 and 5,401,226); rider exercise machines (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,603,486, 5,695,434, and 5,997,446); glider/strider exercise machines (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,940,233 and 5,795,268); stepper exercise machines (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,690); bicycle exercise machines (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,188,030 and 4,509,742); and other, miscellaneous exercise machines (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,869,494 and 5,039,088). These patents are incorporated herein by reference to show suitable applications for the present invention.
On many such exercise machines, arm driven members and leg driven members are synchronized to facilitate a coordinated xe2x80x9ctotal bodyxe2x80x9d exercise motion. The synchronized motion is considered advantageous to the extent that it makes the equipment relatively easy to use. On the other hand, the perceived quality of exercise tends to exceed the actual quality of the exercise because the arms typically perform very little work. In industry terminology, the arms are generally xe2x80x9calong for the ride.xe2x80x9d
In contrast to the foregoing machines, other exercise machines have been developed to provide independent upper body exercise and lower body exercise. One such machine is the NordicTrack ski machine (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,102). On machines of this type, both the perceived quality of exercise and the actual quality of exercise are relatively more strenuous. The trade-off is that many people consider such machines relatively difficult to use, due to the independent nature of the arm motions and the leg motions.
As compared to the ski machines and other machines with independent motion, another shortcoming of the xe2x80x9csynchronizedxe2x80x9d machines is that the handles are often constrained to move back and forth regardless of whether or not the user wishes to move his arms while moving his legs in such cases, the handles can be a nuisance and/or a potential source of injury. One known solution to this problem is to alternatively pin the handles to respective leg driven members or the frame (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,026). This approach leaves room for improvement to the extent that exercise activity must stop in order to accommodate insertion of the pins. Also, there is an intermediate configuration, wherein the respective positions of the handles are not dictated by either the leg driven members or the frame. In this regard, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,026 patent teaches that the arms may be exercised independent of the legs when the pins are entirely removed. However, this alternative mode of operation simply brings users back to the difficulties often associated with the machines having uncoordinated arm and leg movements, and it does not address the requirement that exercise activity cease in order to change between modes. Recognizing that each of the foregoing types of total body exercise machines suffer certain shortcomings, room for improvement remains with respect to total body exercise machines.
The present invention provides methods and apparatus for linking a leg driven member and an arm driven member on an exercise machine. The present invention may be implemented in different ways to achieve different results. For example, the present invention may be implemented in a manner which constrains one or more arm driven members to be both (a) synchronized relative to respective leg driven member(s) and (b) movable through a variable range of motion while the leg driven members move through a prescribed range of motion. The present invention may also be implemented in a manner which constrains one or more arm driven members to be both (a) synchronized relative to respective leg driven member(s) and (b) selectively movable (or selectively xe2x80x9cstoppablexe2x80x9d) at any time. The present invention may also be implemented in a manner which constrains one or more arm driven members to be both (a) synchronized relative to respective leg driven member(s) and (b) subjected to resistance independent of the leg driven member(s). The present invention may also be implemented in a manner which constrains the position of one or more arm driven member(s) to be (a) alternatively determined by the frame and respective leg member(s) and (b) always determined by one or the other.
Various embodiments of the present invention generally include a frame; at least one leg driven member; at least one arm driven member; and a transmission assembly interconnected therebetween. Generally speaking, at least one of each leg driven member and arm driven member is pivotally connected to the frame, and at least three discrete connection points are defined between the frame, the leg driven member, and the arm driven member. On some of the embodiments, the transmission assemblies are interconnected between the leg driven member(s) and the arm driven member(s) in a manner which provides all of the attributes described in the preceding paragraph.
On some embodiments, first and second links are pivotally connected to one another and pivotally interconnected between each leg driven member and a respective arm driven member in a manner which constrains the leg driven member and the arm driven member to pivot together in a common rotational direction. On these embodiments, the range of motion of the arm driven member is a function of the location of the pivot axis defined between the first and second links. On other embodiments, each leg driven member and a respective arm driven member are operatively connected to a common rocker link, and the range of motion of the arm driven member is a function of the effective radius of the rocker link for each of the driven members. On still other embodiments, each leg driven member is connected directly to a respective arm driven member at a point of connection, and the range of motion of the arm driven member is a function of the location of a point of connection between the two driven members or between the frame and one of the driven members.
The left and right sides of various embodiments may be linked for contemporaneous adjustment of the arm exercise stroke, or they may be kept separate for independent adjustment and operation. The former arrangement may be considered advantageous to the extent that only one adjustment mechanism is required for left and right arm members, and the two arm members are constrained to operate in like fashion. On the other hand, the latter arrangement may be considered advantageous to the extent that each arm member may be operated independently. The adjustment mechanism may take many different forms, including motorized actuators, clutches, linear springs and dampers, torsional springs and dampers, weights, and simple hole and pin arrangements.
Regardless of the particular arrangement, the present invention also facilitates a method of exercise wherein separate resistance is provided for arm exercise and leg exercise, and/or a distinction is made between the work performed by a user""s arms and the work performed by a user""s legs. On embodiments with a spring and damper adjustment mechanism, for example, movement of the user""s legs may be resisted by an eddy current brake or other known resistance mechanism, while movement of the user""s arms may be resisted by the spring and/or the damper. On embodiments with a motorized adjustment mechanism, for another example, a controller may continually sense the force exerted by a user""s arms and adjust the leg resistance device to match this force without altering the perceived resistance to leg exercise. In either case, a user interface may be provided to display information and/or change operational parameters in view of how much work is being performed by the user""s arms and how much work is being performed by the user""s legs.
Several embodiments of the present invention are described in greater detail below with reference to the accompanying figures. However, the present invention is not limited to the depicted embodiments, nor even to the types of machine on which they are shown. Moreover, the present invention is applicable to different combinations of force receiving and/or limb moving members, and additional variations and/or advantages are likely to become more apparent from the detailed description that follows.